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A review by ncrabb
A Girl Named Summer by Julie Garwood
5.0
This is one of the most innocent, charming, and delightful young-adult titles I’ve read in years. Most of you will probably find it too schmaltzy or even cloying, but it appealed to me greatly.
Summer Matthews is 15 the summer her folks announce that she must stay at home and care for her aging grandpa and three-year-old brother who loves nothing more than dressing like superman however hot the day. She had big plans to work at a local pizza place with her best friend, Regina, where they would meet older guys and have the summer of a lifetime. Alas, Grandpa and the kid brother slammed that door closed.
But things look up when a young guy named David Marshall walks into the BINGO hall where Grandpa is playing his heart out and Summer is helping with the refreshments. David is smoking hot, and better still, he’s the guy who will be teaching Summer’s kid brother how to swim. Naturally, she must be poolside to at least supervise the kid from afar.
To her amazement, Summer realizes that David is attracted to her, miracle of miracles. He even fits in with her slightly crazed but loving family.
But when the local teen temptress moves in on David, Summer must do something to keep his attention. Learning that he’s a runner, she boasts about being a veteran runner herself. Never mind that Summer doesn’t even jog across the street. The author says Summer has the physique and body of an in-shape runner, but her mind isn’t part of that deal. That doesn’t stop her from desperately lying about it to keep David’s attention. Her scheme works—almost. David signs her up to run with him in what sounds like a half marathon race, and the winner limps home with a cool $500 in the pocket.
Naturally, Summer is horrified. She is especially horrified when David sternly lectures her one night about how he dislikes dishonest girls. He comes on strong; she comes to a sense of doom and loss. He won’t stay with her when he finds out, after all.
Summer confides her boy troubles in Grandpa, and the old Irishman, who dreams of going back to the old country for a long visit, is sure he has the cure for her problems. At his insistence, Summer begins running and training every morning early.
I fell in love with this book because there’s not a profane word in it. It is innocent and delightful. The kids in town have parties, but no one brings the elicit booze or drugs, nobody fills the bedrooms at the host house for a sleazy seven-minute wham-bam-who’s-next event. This is a book that could have been a Disney movie when Walt was alive and at the helm of the company. It’s just fun to read. None of the young people here are sexed-up and trashy. There’s lots of teenage angst in here, but my goodness, that’s perfectly understandable. Perhaps this isn’t a five-star plot, but it’s a five-star book because you can read it and not feel like the rising generation has nothing to offer. It’s genuinely fun to see Summer come of age and make the kind of internal as well as external changes that will assure a better brighter future. It’s so relaxing to read about a two-parent family that’s a bit zany and goofy, but very much in love.
The book is tiny. You’re done with it in an hour and three or four minutes at 2.62X. It’s a lovely break from all the mayhem and murder I’ve been reading lately and to which I’ll return in my next book. I needed the break.
Summer Matthews is 15 the summer her folks announce that she must stay at home and care for her aging grandpa and three-year-old brother who loves nothing more than dressing like superman however hot the day. She had big plans to work at a local pizza place with her best friend, Regina, where they would meet older guys and have the summer of a lifetime. Alas, Grandpa and the kid brother slammed that door closed.
But things look up when a young guy named David Marshall walks into the BINGO hall where Grandpa is playing his heart out and Summer is helping with the refreshments. David is smoking hot, and better still, he’s the guy who will be teaching Summer’s kid brother how to swim. Naturally, she must be poolside to at least supervise the kid from afar.
To her amazement, Summer realizes that David is attracted to her, miracle of miracles. He even fits in with her slightly crazed but loving family.
But when the local teen temptress moves in on David, Summer must do something to keep his attention. Learning that he’s a runner, she boasts about being a veteran runner herself. Never mind that Summer doesn’t even jog across the street. The author says Summer has the physique and body of an in-shape runner, but her mind isn’t part of that deal. That doesn’t stop her from desperately lying about it to keep David’s attention. Her scheme works—almost. David signs her up to run with him in what sounds like a half marathon race, and the winner limps home with a cool $500 in the pocket.
Naturally, Summer is horrified. She is especially horrified when David sternly lectures her one night about how he dislikes dishonest girls. He comes on strong; she comes to a sense of doom and loss. He won’t stay with her when he finds out, after all.
Summer confides her boy troubles in Grandpa, and the old Irishman, who dreams of going back to the old country for a long visit, is sure he has the cure for her problems. At his insistence, Summer begins running and training every morning early.
I fell in love with this book because there’s not a profane word in it. It is innocent and delightful. The kids in town have parties, but no one brings the elicit booze or drugs, nobody fills the bedrooms at the host house for a sleazy seven-minute wham-bam-who’s-next event. This is a book that could have been a Disney movie when Walt was alive and at the helm of the company. It’s just fun to read. None of the young people here are sexed-up and trashy. There’s lots of teenage angst in here, but my goodness, that’s perfectly understandable. Perhaps this isn’t a five-star plot, but it’s a five-star book because you can read it and not feel like the rising generation has nothing to offer. It’s genuinely fun to see Summer come of age and make the kind of internal as well as external changes that will assure a better brighter future. It’s so relaxing to read about a two-parent family that’s a bit zany and goofy, but very much in love.
The book is tiny. You’re done with it in an hour and three or four minutes at 2.62X. It’s a lovely break from all the mayhem and murder I’ve been reading lately and to which I’ll return in my next book. I needed the break.